Elevatorgate is a mock heroic poem about the eponymous internet flame war that shook the anglophone atheist community in mid-2011, spawning an embittered, years-long struggle about future policy. Depending on whom you ask, the object of that struggle was alleviating sexism within the atheist movement; a well-intentioned, but distracting attempt to combine the movement's quest for secularization with social justice issues; or a cynical bid for popularity and money. In a wider context, it may be seen as part of the struggle between postmodern and liberal enlightenment values, and a precursor of the recent college unrests in the UK and US.

In this case, the postmodern / social justice side failed to rebuild the atheist movement in its own image and eventually started to eat their own, and things have quieted down in the last couple of years. I originally planned to cover the whole conflict up to the time of writing (mid-2015), but settled for the more humble goal of showing only the initial flame war – Elevatorgate in its stricter sense – its aftermath, and the first widening of the conflict beyond the original participants: A time period of one year. If you're interested in the later events, I suggest the two sources linked to at bottom, which provide excellent and largely unbiased accounts of the key episodes.

Despite the "mocking" part, this is a documentary. What you read actually happened that way. I have distilled, but not invented; the worst mocking is by the parties' own words and deeds. While I did not refrain from adding some mockery of my own, I took my real subject to be the very existence of this conflict, not so much the individuals who are part of it. And though I too, of course, have a position in this conflict – which you may learn more about from the epic's afterword – I strove to offend with equal opportunity. If that did not translate to equal outcome, I think the reason lies in the conflicting sides themselves, not in my biases; you may not find me impartial, but I hope you'll find me just. In any case, I went to great lengths to provide sources for words and deeds, so that you may go and form your own opinion (the internet being such an ephemeral place, I sadly can not guarantee that all source links will still be working by the time you read this). I believe that you'll agree, to speak with Alan Sokal, that some things are not improved by their context.

I don't consider myself much of a poet, much less in a foreign language. So if anything in my work offends your ear, please bear with me (and by all means, tell me!) But if I can make you, even once, shake your head in incredulous amusement, I shall feel myself validated, and amply rewarded.

Further reading:

The Golden Apple Grenade, by Aneris

Chronology of Misrepresentations and Smears in the Atheist Movement, by Michael Nugent